Federal lawsuit targeting steel mill is dismissedA federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a steel company's lawsuit against a rival, saying it couldn't use the court system to bypass state regulators who had already given the rival permission to build a new mill. U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes ruled the lawsuit by Nucor Steel seeking to halt construction of a Big River Steel mill in Osceola is not authorized under the citizen lawsuit provision of the federal Clean Air Act. He said his court h...

Panel rejects 'conscience-protection' measureLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to prevent state and local governments from infringing on a person's religious beliefs failed before an Arkansas legislative panel Wednesday after facing mounting criticism that it was an attempt to justify discriminating against gays and lesbians. The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the "conscience protection" measure, a day after retail giant Wal-Mart said the measure sent the wrong message about its home st...

Panel OKs eliminating death sentence as penaltyLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to abolish the death penalty in Arkansas advanced in the Legislature on Wednesday for what will likely be a mostly symbolic vote, nearly a decade after the state last executed an inmate. The Senate Judiciary Committee, by a voice vote, endorsed a proposal to eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option for capital murder and treason. The bill heads to the majority-Republican Senate, where it faces dim prospe...

Fort Smith advised to nearly triple sewer ratesFORT SMITH (AP) — A consultant has recommended that Fort Smith nearly triple its sewer rates over three years to help raise the estimated $500 million the federal government says the city should spend to eliminate Clean Water Act violations. City directors will vote March 17 on an ordinance that would increase the sewer rates in 2016 and 2017. The vote will come after a public hearing. If the ordinance passes, the rate that sewer customers are...

Blytheville considering repayment plan for sanitation debtBLYTHEVILLE (AP) — The city of Blytheville is considering a plan to repay the state tax sales that its trash and sanitation services have failed to pay since 2004. The Jonesboro Sun reported that finance director John Callens, along with Mayor James Sanders, are negotiating a deal with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to repay a debt of about $970,000. With penalties and interest, the city owes about $1.6 million. The plan...

Pine Bluff officials take no action for collapsed buildingsPINE BLUFF (AP) — Even after holding a meeting, the Pine Bluff City Council is still trying to decide what to do with the remains of two downtown buildings that collapsed. The council met Monday, and Mayor Debe Hollingsworth proposed spending $240,000 from the city's reserve fund to hire a crew to remove the debris. The ordinance was read once, but no action was taken. An ordinance needs to be read three times before a vote can take place. The...

House passes lottery bill, sends to HutchinsonLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers have passed and sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson a bill that would abolish the independent lottery commission and instead place it under Hutchinson's control. The state House voted 84-3 Tuesday to endorse shifting responsibility for the games' operations to the state Department of Finance and Administration. The existing nine-member Lottery Commission would be dissolved and the governor would appoint a games di...

Harrison judge responds health inspection of courthouseHARRISON (AP) — Boone County Judge Robert Hathaway has responded to the Arkansas Department of Health inspection report that shows several health concerns in a 108-yeal-old county courthouse. The Harrison Daily Times reported that Hathaway acknowledged the symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, sneezing, and coughing that employees have experienced, but said that the situation was not as bad as the report suggested. The judge told his emp...

House committee rejects car cellphone regulationsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A dashboard video showing a state trooper narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a driver who was using a cellphone wasn't enough to sway an Arkansas House committee that tougher laws are needed. The Public Transportation Committee voted 11-7 on Tuesday against a bill that would have prohibited people from using cellphones without hands-free devices to dial a phone number, use social media or utilize a map application wh...

Hutchinson signs measure expanding computer science classesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed into law a measure requiring public high schools to offer computer science courses in the coming school year. Hutchinson signed the bill Tuesday, following through on a campaign promise he says was inspired by his 12-year-old granddaughter learning computer coding. Hutchinson, a Republican, was elected in November. The new law gives districts the option of offering the courses in-perso...

House panel to consider Robert E. Lee memorial dayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker plans to revive an attempt to separate the state's practice of honoring civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the same day by creating a memorial day for Lee. A similar bill failed twice to advance out of the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee after an outpouring of public comment from people who said the change belittles southern heritage. De...

Lawsuit filed over state takeover of Little Rock schoolsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Three former Little Rock School Board members and a resident are suing Arkansas Education Commissioner Tony Wood and the state Board of Education in an effort to overturn the state takeover of the Little Rock district. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Pulaski County Circuit Court on behalf of former board members Dianne Curry, Jim Ross and C.E. McAdoo and resident Doris Pendleton. The state board had no authority to take over...

Officials warn of canceled highway projectsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Voter-approved proposals have helped Arkansas weather declines in state and federal highway funding, and transportation officials are working with state lawmakers on a long-term solution before the proposals expire and projects stall. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department has increased spending by nearly 70 percent from 2008 to 2013, according to the Federal Highway Administration's annual highway statisti...

Huckabee's challenge: Reaching beyond cultural conservativesWOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee travels the country in a bus adorned with his smiling face and the cover of his latest book. But the ordained Baptist minister and potential 2016 presidential candidate makes it clear that he's interested in more than best-seller lists. "I think everyone understands where this is headed," Huckabee said after signing books in metro Atlanta. After all, he joked, he didn't recently leave hi...

University president opposes highway funding billLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The president of the Arkansas State University System says a bill to compensate for dwindling highway maintenance and construction funding would be "catastrophic" for higher education in the state. Charles Welch told the system Board of Trustees on Friday that he opposed the bill approved a day earlier by the House Public Transportation Committee. The measure would gradually divert the money from the state's general re...

German steel company to buy vacant buildingOSCEOLA (AP) — The Osceola City Council agreed on the proposed sale of a vacant building to the German steel company SMS. The council voted Thursday to sell the $12 million factory that was opened by German-based steel company Beckmann Volmer in 2011, The Jonesboro Sun reported. SMS would complement the Big River Steel mill that is expected to open in Osceola within the next few years. SMS expects to supply $600 million of steel mill equipment...

Justices hear arguments on lethal injection lawLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A case that examines whether a 2013 law gives the state's correction department too much authority in setting lethal-injection protocol is now before the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court on Thursday heard oral arguments from an assistant state attorney general and a lawyer representing nine death-row inmates. Pulaski County Judge Wendell Griffen last year put lethal injections on hold in the state. He said the law stipulati...

House members support abortion medicine restrictionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a measure that would ban doctors from remotely distributing abortion pills and advanced another proposal allowing for felony battery charges to be lodged against someone who harms an unborn child. Banning the delivery of abortion pills through telemedicine was the top legislative priority for anti-abortion groups this year, with Republicans in all key state offices. Gov. Asa...

Lawmakers order schools to teach cursive writingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — All that's needed to return cursive writing classes to Arkansas classrooms is a signature by Gov. Asa Hutchinson — and if he signs it, it will probably be in cursive. The state Senate on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a bill requiring public schools to teach cursive to students by the end of the third grade. Several districts dropped handwriting courses after Arkansas adopted tougher standards for mathematics an...